Athletes can soon transfer schools and play immediately.
That’s according to proposed legislation sent to Division I Council members this week and obtained by Sports Illustrated. The Council is expected to introduce the proposal into the NCAA’s 2020–21 legislative cycle at its meeting Wednesday, with a vote coming in January for an effective date of Aug. 1, 2021.
Under the proposal developed by the NCAA Working Group on Transfers, athletes are afforded a one-time transfer during their athletic careers without suffering the penalty of sitting out a season, reversing a policy from the 1960s. Fall and winter sport athletes would have to notify their schools of a transfer by May 1, with an exception extending the date to July 1 for an end-of-the-year head coaching change or the non-renewal of scholarships.